Compare, don’t rank
Compare any two IT certifications
Pick two and see them side by side on RoleMath’s cited Difficulty Score and real exam fees— with the honest difficulty-and-cost trade-off spelled out. No “best cert” verdict: the facts are cited, and the right choice depends on the role you’re after, not the lower number.
CompTIA · Foundation · Security
CompTIA · Intermediate · Security
On RoleMath’s cited Difficulty Score, CompTIA CySA+ is rated 30 points harder than CompTIA Security+ (45 vs 75). Both exams cost the same ($439).
Both are Security certifications — CompTIA CySA+is the more advanced step, not a “better” one. Pick by where you are now, not the higher number. The Difficulty Score and fees are cited facts, not a verdict; open each card’s page for the full cited detail.
The sources
Cited facts, not a ranking
Difficulty Scores: RoleMath’s cited Difficulty Score methodology (credential level + recommended experience + exam-format inputs; not a pass rate). Exam fees: each vendor’s official pricing, dated on the card (retrieved June 2026). The tool surfaces 14 certifications that have a cited Difficulty Score and a cited fee; it ranks nothing and asserts no “best” certification. Pay and role context live on each cert’s linked page.
Common questions
Comparing certifications, answered honestly
- Which certification is harder?
- Pick the two and the tool shows each one’s RoleMath Difficulty Score (0–100) side by side and the gap between them. The score is computed from cited inputs — credential level, recommended experience, and exam format — not a pass rate (no vendor publishes a real one). A higher score means a bigger jump for a typical newcomer, not that the cert is "better."
- Which certification should I get?
- There is no universal best certification — that is exactly what affiliate sites sell and we won’t. The right one depends on the role you are targeting. Use the side-by-side to see the honest cost and difficulty trade-off, then open each cert’s page for what it actually proves and which roles it maps to, or build a plan for your situation.
- How much do these certifications cost?
- Each card shows the current exam fee cited to the vendor and dated. Those are exam fees only — training is optional and extra, and the cheapest route is self-study plus the exam. See the certification cost page for full three-year totals including renewal.
- Where do the difficulty scores and fees come from?
- Every figure is cited: Difficulty Scores from RoleMath’s published methodology, exam fees from each vendor’s official pricing (dated on the card). The tool renders that cited data — it makes no new claims and ranks nothing.
Decide by the role, not the ranking
Once you know the target role, the planner sequences the right certs for your situation. And before you commit, check what each one counts toward(DoD baselines, college credit) and that it isn’t retired. RoleMath sells nothing.